Last Chance at the Dance
by DomesticPruEst
Summary: What happens during the space of time when you can't further Akihiko's social link? He realizes he's messed up and nearly loses Minako. Inspired by the song "In Your Arms Tonight" from the Hedwig and the Angry Inch OST.


_"Running head on_

_To things that knock me down_

_Over again..."_

Minako was at a loss as to how she'd managed to allow herself to be so stupid. She'd opened herself up, let him in, and allowed herself to believe she'd fallen in love. How could she have been so stupid to think that the heartthrob king of the school could feel anything for a girl like her? She sat forlorn and silently cursing herself on the the bench at the back of the crowded gymnasium in the midst of all the music, swirling strobe lights, and celebratory atmosphere of the school's autumn dance. Why? Why did she let her friends convince her to show up at all? Why did she get her hopes up that he would even be there, let alone be there to see her? Sure, their respective athletic clubs were working the dance this year, but neither of them were much the type for any festivities of the sort. Still, as much as it broke her heart to think of how foolish she'd been in feeling anything for such an unatttainable person, she couldn't get him out of her head regardless of how much she tried. She'd let him into her heart and her world had never been the same since. They'd been friends and teammates for months, and despite how much the girls at school tormented her for it, she gladly hung out with him whenever he asked. There was no way she could ever say no to those steely grey eyes and that ever-charming smile that made her stomach tie itself in knots ever time it flashed her way. The last few weeks though, something changed that brought tears to her eyes whenever she was alone. She couldn't tell exactly what she'd done wrong, but it was as if the boy that held her beating heart in his pale hand suddenly grew cold to her affections, discarding the love she so willingly gave him like it had no worth in the world. He refused to speak to her, wouldn't aknowledge her in the halls, and even avoided fighting in Tartarus when she tried choosing him for her team. What had she done to make him hate her so much? Tears began to well in her kohl-rimmed eyes and her hands balled up into sad little fists, clenching the soft material of the black dress that hung in cascading folds around her dainty feet like the night sky when it sparkled with stars. Her bare shoulders slumped forward and she silently wished she'd never moved to Port Island at all.

She sat there alone and brokenhearted like a beautifully painted doll who could never hope to find someone to take her home. She wanted to cry.

_"You picked me off the ground_

_When I wasn't strong enough to fight_

_Anymore..."_

Akihiko was beyond confused and it hurt him to the core whenever he saw the wounded expression and pain in those ruby eyes every time he denied her. How could he be doing this to someone who'd never done anything but give of herself without question and defend him from the terrors they faced on a nightly basis without expecting even the slightest thing in return? He sat up on the rooftop of the school where nobody could find him and punched the cold concrete wall in disgust over how he could be so cruel to the only person that was ever able to see him for who he was. Ever since she'd moved to Port Island and the dorm months before, the girl with the gleaming auburn hair and the beautiful smile that made him forget all his troubles had been his sole motivation for fighting. He wanted to be worthy of the devotion she so readily showed to all those around her. Hanging out with her in those months was the happiest he'd ever been in his short and turbluent life because he'd finally found someone that could feel the same pain that he kept hidden inside as well. Someone to share things with...then why the hell was he being such a despicable, horrid excuse for a friend? Was a friend really all she was to him? No, that couldn't be it. He punched to wall again in frustration, causing his whole hand to throb in agony and his knuckles to bleed. Being around her had made him the happiest peson in the world at first, but lately every time he saw her in the halls, at the dorm, or even in his thoughts, he felt tense and on edge. Not knowing the root of the troubling feelings or how to deal with them at all, he began to distance himself from her and it hurt every single time he turned her away. Why had he even bothered to show up to this god forsaken school dance in the first place? He knew she was there, and it made him shake in anger to think that she was down there all alone when she deserved to be having the time of her life. What were these feelings that made him behave so coldly to her? What changed in him? The blood that dripped off of his battered knuckles caught the light of the early evening sky as it fell to the ground, the same color as the eyes of the only girl he's ever...

As the realization finally hit him, Akihiko bolted from the lonely, concrete rooftop and ran towards the music to find the girl he'd hurt so much and tell her what had taken him so long to figure out himelf.

_"God only knows_

_why I don't just retreat, instead of riding the rails_

_back to the place of my worst defeat_

_cause I'm not fooling anyone_

_not quite convincing you "_

Her friends tried to comfort her, but not even their best intentions could alleviate the miserable state she was in. Typically Minako was the one people turned to with their own problems because nothing ever seemed to phase her, but this time she was the one who found herself unable to cope with the harshness of rejection. Classmates and friends danced around her to the beat and sway of the music, but no matter how much she tried, Minako simply couldn't will her feet to move. She'd taken on so much since her arrival, all to prove to him that she was strong, but nothig she did seemed to be good enough for him. She lead SEES, she had perfect grades, she worked two jobs, and she trained every single day without complaint, but where had that gotten her? She couldn't tell anyone else how she felt because it was foolish enough for her to fall for her to have fallen for her senpai in the first place. Every girl in school wanted him and he could have any one of them at a moment's notice if he so chose, but for a while there it seemed as if he'd chosen her and she'd gotten her hopes up over it. But no...she was just another in a long line of foolish teenage girls with a hopeless crush to a boy they could never hope to have. Love was supposed to be a perfect bed of roses like in all the storybooks, wasn't it? No. Minako had learned the ugly truth the hard way; through pain and heartbreak.

The music slowed to the sounds of a softly playing guitar as the lights around the gymnasium began to dim, bringing everyone to a pause.. She could see them all quietly begin to pair up, holding one another close and gently swaying in time to the tune, looking as if nothing else in the world mattered except for that moment and their cherished partner. It was something she'd always thought she would be able to look forward to; the moment when the boy she liked would approach her from acrosss the crowd, taking her hand and ask her to dance. It was what every girl wanted, right? Not this time. Unable to hold back the pain any longer, Minako shook the tears loose from her eyes, tearing the corsage of roses from her dress and flinging it angrily to the floor as she wrenched herself from her lonely seat and fled the sickeningly romantic music. She had to get away from all of it. The door was within sight and she clutched her high heeled shoes tightly in her hand as she ran towards it, mascara running down her cheeks in dark streaks of black.

She wanted nothing more than to at least know where she stood with him, but it seemed she was destined to simply give and give until there was nothing left of herself for anyone.

_"the years you've seen in me_

_the one who'd be there for you_

_the way I need you here tonight..."_

Akihiko ran frantically from the rooftop towards the gym in hopes of finding Minako still there. There wasn't a single person in the staircase as he barreled down them and through the door into the hallway in front of the gym where the music was beginning to slow. He'd been such a terrible person and had treated her so poorly, he doubted if she'd ever be able to forgive his stupidity, but he at least had to try. It took him weeks to figure out what was wrong with him and it wasn't her at all. In fact, she was the only thing right about him, it seemed. To think of all the troubles she took onto herself without asking for a single thing in return made him feel all the worse for the way he treated her. His nervousness and lack of experience certainly was no excuse for his behavior and he hoped desperately that she would be able to understand him if he just got the chance to tell her. She'd been the best thing to come into his life and if she would have him after all of this, he would promise never to let her go agaiin. That ready smile and those beautiful crimson eyes were what he would give anything to see every single day if he could. All the talk and show he made of training to be stronger in order to be able to protect things, and here he'd hurt the one person who needed him the most. His feet carried him as fast as they could through the halls, rounding the corner at a brisk paced and blowing past the ticket table before the shocked commitee members had any chance to object. He wasn't dressed for a dance, but it didn't matter. He had to find her before she walked out of his life for good. He couldn't let that happen.

He burst through the heavy double doors, hand still sore and bleeding, into a sea of couples moving back and forth slowly in rhythm to the heartfelt and romantic music emanating from the speakers around them. He pushed his way through the crowd looking for her, shrugging off waves of chattering girls as they clung to his arms in vain. His heart beat faster and he began to worry that he'd missed his chance. She wasn't anywhere to be found amongst the waves of students on the dance floor where he'd expected her to be, but as he stood still, running his good hand through his silver hair in worry, a corsage of roses skidded along the floor to his feet. He recognized it as the one Minako had bought the day before when her face lit up at the idea of going to a dance. That was before she'd come to the realization of what an idiot he'd been to her, most likely. The memory of seeing her so happy made him smile as well, but he quickly snatched up the discarded flowers and chased after the girl he saw making a break for the emergency exit. There was no mistaking that hair and that petite frame as it ran towards the door, heedless to whoever she may have run into. He chased after her desperately, getting closer and closer until he was able to reach out and grab her arm. Even though his hand hurt like fire and even though the blood still stained his pale skin, he held onto her, turning her around to face him before he lost her forever.

"Minako!" He called her name over the rising sound of the music and clutched her body close to his, holding her head against his chest and burying his face against the soft locks of her hair to hide the tears staining his own eyes. "Please forgive me..." Akihiko sobbed as he held held onto the girl he never wanted to hurt again.

_"Try not to be strong_

_cry 'til it's all gone_

_if you hold me tight_

_in your arms tonight_

_oh my love"_

"I...I love you." Of all the explanations that ran through his head during on his way to her, those three words were the only ones that mattered.

The music had long since ended and the lights were back to their daytime brightness, but the couple had yet to part. Every set of eyes in the gym watched the two in rapt silence; the transfer student and the boxing champ, lips and arms entwined, swaying as if in time to a tune no one else could hear. None of what their awestruck audience thought mattered at all to them in that quiet moment as they held one another close because now they finally knew exactly what it meant to be whole again. Not even the crowd of devastated fangirls moved a hand to stop the two as they parted and made their way out of the gym, hands locked and smiling as they finally passed out of sight.


End file.
